Strong quake in India’s remote northeast kills at least 8

Authorities in India’s Manipur state where the quake was centred said another 70 people had been injured by the quake, which damaged buildings in the capital Imphal.

“Many are injured and houses have collapsed in Kabui Kjulen and Pongailong villages but none of the relief teams has reached these areas”, said Kanarjit Kangujam of Youth Disaster Response Team.

It said on Monday in Imphal (India) that the quake killed at least 11 people and injuring almost 200. Shallow earthquakes tend to produce more violent shaking near the epicenter than deeper earthquakes of equal magnitude, but they tend to be felt over a smaller geographic area.

Rescue teams from various agencies were sent immediately to Imphal to provide relief and rescue operations, while injured individuals were sent to the local hospitals to be treated. Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers in India and Bangladesh, in coordination with public authorities, helped evacuate injured people from damaged buildings and provided first aid.

The academics at the department of seismological research at Manipur University, said it was the most powerful quake to hit the state since 1957.

There were reports that one man died in a building collapse in Imphal, according to Maj.

Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha convened a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) Monday to review the situation.

There were no immediate reports of casualties Monday on the Myanmar side of the border, a remote and sparsely populated area that suffered widespread damage this summer from landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains. The US Geographical Survey (USGC)?said the epicenter was 29 kilometeres west-northwest from Imphal.

Shangthon Kamei, a teacher in Tamenglong, said the quake rattled buildings. “Everybody has two to three storey houses here and everybody is scared now”, said Babu Lal, a resident. While Guwahati experienced tremors, several buildings in Silchar were damaged.

He said that though a bridge in the western part of the district over the river has been damaged, but connectivity was not a major problem with Imphal, located 146 km from district headquarter.

Residents said people fled from their homes, and power and telecoms links were down in the remote region. He said, “I am trying to contact people and am monitoring the situation”.